Water is essential for drinking, farming, industry, wildlife and recreation. Sustainable water abstraction is essential to ensure that river flows and groundwater levels support ecology and natural resilience. We work side by side with abstractors, combining their knowledge of the land with ours, to safeguard the environment and balance the needs of the society, the economy, industry and farmers over the long term.
The pressures are real: floods and droughts are hitting harder and more often. 2026 has seen the driest July in 190 years, with just 5 per cent of expected rainfall and the joint hottest August on record. The summer overall saw 64 per cent of expected rainfall, resulting in a very difficult harvest for farmers and impacts on fish stocks, bird populations, and wider ecosystems. New research has shown we need 120 per cent of typical rainfall over the next seven months for all areas to be considered out of drought.
This has placed significant demands on abstraction, particularly for irrigation, and agricultural reservoir stocks have declined rapidly, especially where abstractors rely heavily on storage. If you own, operate or are planning to build a reservoir, our new planning guides explain the requirements.
What are abstraction licences?
Abstraction is the process of taking water from a river, lake or groundwater source for uses such as irrigation, industry, recreation or drinking water. We grant abstraction licences to protect the environment and the rights of existing lawful water users.
Those with abstraction licences are allowed to take water in line with the conditions of their licence.
Abstracting more than 20 cubic metres a day generally requires a licence, though some activities, such as firefighting, are exempt. If you take water from the same source at multiple points, the combined total must be 20 cubic metres or less a day to qualify for exemption.
If you don't hold a licence, you may be able to agree a trade or share with an existing licence holder, permanently or temporarily, provided all licence conditions can still be met. Where an abstraction is moved to a different abstraction point, the buyer of the abstraction right would normally have to apply for their own licence or change their existing licence if they have one.
Not all activities require an abstraction licence to take place with some being exempt.
Abstraction licence holders can manage their accounts online to see a summary of their licence and past returns.
How can the Environment Agency restrict abstraction?
There are two main types of restrictions that the Environment Agency can implement on abstractors at times of pressure: hands-off flow conditions and Section 57 restrictions.
Hands-off flow conditions on licences reduce or prevent abstraction to protect other abstractors and the environment. Many of these restrictions have come into effect in 2026 due to very low river flows. Licence holders who have hands-off flow condition on their licences will be notified when the condition comes into force, with as much advance notice as possible.
Section 57 of the Water Resources Act 1991 allows formal notices to be issued to holders of spray irrigation abstraction licences to protect river flows during drought throughout a catchment.
Spray irrigation abstraction licence holders can help make the most of the water which their licence authorises to take by:
Monitoring water consumption, ensuring water measurement devices are installed to accurately measure the quantities of water abstracted; Preventing and dealing with leaks; Maintaining equipment, making sure it’s properly set up; and Irrigation scheduling – ensuring the correct amount of water is applied at the right time.Environment Agency updated prospects for irrigation report for summer 2026 can be found on gov.uk.
We work closely with farmers, the National Farmers Union (NFU), Water Abstraction Groups (WAGs) and Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) to give as much advanced notice as possible before stopping or reducing conditions are needed on abstraction licences to protect the environment.
We continue to carry out irrigation patrols and other compliance checks to ensure all abstractors are complying with their licence conditions to help protect water availability.
If abstractors believe that they may not be able to comply with their abstraction licence or have issues accessing water supplies, they should contact their local area Environment Agency office for further advice as soon as possible.
What support is available for those with abstraction licences who may have restrictions in place?
Drought is putting real pressure on farmers this year. From Thursday 1 October, we're letting abstraction licence holders start refilling their water storage reservoirs early, typically a month ahead of schedule. This temporary Regulatory Position Statement runs from 1 October to 31 October.
Eligible licence holders can act now, without waiting for a local Environment Agency drought assessment. At a time when every week counts, this means farmers can secure water when they need it most.
This isn't a blanket relaxation of the rules. Protecting wildlife and sensitive water environments means some tough decisions: the RPS does not apply to Principal Salmon Rivers or to catchments with a section 57 spray irrigation restriction in place. Where drought restrictions already apply, abstraction stays restricted. Existing licence conditions, including hands-off flow and level constraints, remain in force.
Wider general guidance is available for abstraction licence holders affected by prolonged dry weather and drought, alongside short and long-term options to improve water access and resilience.
We also have policy positions that allow farmers to take water during flood conditions, supporting opportunities to capture high flows whilst continuing to protect rivers and the wider environment.
For short term support:
Speak to us about options outside your licence conditions. Consider water rights trading between licence holders - Trade water abstraction rights - GOV.UK.Managing abstraction for the long term
We know that getting a long duration abstraction licence has been difficult, and that this has held back investment in sustainable abstraction, including farm storage reservoirs. We have therefore changed how we assess long duration abstraction licence requests, and the evidence needed to support them, for those who don't currently hold a licence. This should make it easier to invest for the long term. New applicants can find out more here.
For existing abstractors, there are a number of schemes that can help generate water resilience. For more information on these schemes and how to manage your land and farm in dry weather, including information on looking after livestock, managing farm reservoirs, storing flammable materials and creating firebreaks please visit the Defra Farming Blog.
We’re encouraging the establishment of Water Abstractor Groups (WAGs) to work together to understand and jointly plan for their future water needs. Defra provided funding to Regional Water Resources Groups to support these activities and updated guidance to help farmers setup Water Abstractor Groups.
We also recently launched the latest round of Local Resource Option (LRO) Screening Studies, helping groups of farmers identify practical solutions for long-term water resilience. The 2026/27 application window is now closed and projects selected, but further projects may be offered on a first-come-first-served basis if funds remain. Contact WRAgriculture@environment-agency.gov.uk for details.
Reporting incidents
If you are out and about, please report incidents to our hotline - 0800 80 70 60.
It's free and open 24 hours a day.
Incidents you should report include:
fish in distress; collapsed or badly damaged riverbanks and beds; unusual drops in river flow; and people taking water illegally from rivers, streams, canals or underground sources such as wells.More information on other incidents and how to report can be found on gov.uk.
For any further questions you can call our National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506 506.
seen at 14:45, 1 October in Environment Agency: For homes and habitats..